"power conditioning (whatever that turns out to be) IME turns out to be (provided you do your homework first) generally much cheaper and can completely solve the problem of the digital nasties while also improving the usual parameters involved with that approach (blacker background, better decay, better extension etc)."
This depends entirely on the component. If the jitter is high, no amount of AC power conditioning will fix this. It can however act like a tube buffer, adding compression and HF rolloff, which can smooth-out the music, at the expense of detail and imaging. Even poorly designed cables can do this. Its going down the garden path however, not addressing the real problem.
I use no conditioning whatsoever and never have, even at shows. I still earn best sound of show frequently.
Steve N.
Empirical Audio
This depends entirely on the component. If the jitter is high, no amount of AC power conditioning will fix this. It can however act like a tube buffer, adding compression and HF rolloff, which can smooth-out the music, at the expense of detail and imaging. Even poorly designed cables can do this. Its going down the garden path however, not addressing the real problem.
I use no conditioning whatsoever and never have, even at shows. I still earn best sound of show frequently.
Steve N.
Empirical Audio